How Bareback Pads Can Improve Your Riding

How Bareback Pads Can Improve Your Riding

One of the main keys to excellent riding is excellent balance. Excellent balance comes from practice and upper leg strength. One of the best ways to improve your upper leg strength is to ride bareback or without stirrups.

Although it is possible to ride your horse without a bareback pad, not all horses have enough cushy back fat for your comfort. Also, depending on the season, you may end up with more horsehair attached to your rear than you would care for. Bareback pads are not only ideal for reducing the amount of horsehair you’ll end up covered in (after all, you’re not going to be able to avoid it entirely) and they can also make riding a bony horse a lot more comfortable.

Before you ride any horse bareback, with a bareback pad or not, consider safety. Some horses are spooky, so the extra stability of being able to quickly slip your feet back into your stirrups may be a necessity for you. If your horse is very relaxed and easy going, then you can likely ride bareback without any problems, but do keep in mind that horses can be unpredictable.

Remember that bareback riding will feel different to your horse. They won’t be use to you sitting directly on their back without some sort of buffer, like a saddle. This is another benefit to the bareback pad. They can create a buffer zone similar to that of the saddle pad, so your horse won’t become completely distracted with the new feeling of you directly on their back. The girth of the bareback pad will also give them the illusion that you’re in a saddle, which may also help some horses who have not been ridden bareback frequently – if ever.

Bareback riding allows you to feel the true movement of your horse. As your horse moves you will be able to feel his muscles working. You will feel each and every footfall more than you would while in a saddle. This is excellent for getting into a rhythm with your horse and learning how he moves. This also helps you loosen your hips and become more flexible, allowing you to improve your core strength, which also improves your balance.

While riding bareback, keep in mind that you should not be clenching the horse with your knees or calves. You should use your entire leg and keep your heels down, just as if you were in the saddle. You will find that while riding bareback, there is a tendency to let your toes drop.

As you get more comfortable riding bareback and using a bareback pad, you can challenge yourself by trotting seated and posting. Don’t be surprised if you feel it in your legs the next day! You will likely be using muscles you’ve never felt before!